1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic information storage or memory card for use in portable electronic and communication devices, appliances, and for providing access to goods, services, and information.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
Interchangeable information or memory cards are currently known and used in conjunction with many types of electronic devices, especially communication devices, for storing data, enabling secure access to a particular network or account, or configuring such devices to perform different functions. Such cards are typically made of plastic and have an electronic chip module mounted or embedded therein. The module is a semiconductor chip including an integrated circuit with memory, if appropriate, and contact or connection points for electrically connecting the terminals of the integrated circuit to the contact interface in the electronic device in which the card is inserted. Portable information or memory cards must be provided with standardized dimensions with the chip oriented in a predetermined position relative to the edges of the card, depending on the type of electronic device.
As one example of this type of information card, many mobile telephones use cards having subscriber identity modules (SIM cards) to enable a user to access the wireless telephone network in a particular country. Each SIM module contains the configuration information for a specific network, and also contains information identifying the user, such as the user""s mobile telephone number. It is often the case that the mobile telephone networks used from country to country or territory to territory are incompatible with each other, even though they may share the same borders. In places where travel between countries or territories is common, such as between countries in Europe or between China and Hong Kong, the user is thus required to carry two or more such SIM cards and to remove one card from the mobile phone to be replaced with another whenever the user crosses a border.
Other types of electronic cards currently known in the art include MultiMedia cards (MMCs), secure digital (SD) memory cards, SmartMedia(trademark) cards, and Sony Memory Stick(trademark).
MMCs are a relatively new data storage medium having a compact size and high storage capacity, and are commonly provided to be connectable to a handheld communication device. MMCs are similar to flash memory and ROM, but are removable and exchangeable, thus providing greater flexibility and capabilities to portable smart phones, cellular telephones, and pagers, etc. Currently, storage capacities are available for 2, 4, 8, and 16 MB, with a 32 MB capacity soon to be available. Within the next several years, MMCs will be capable of storing up to 128 MB and will be supported by many microcontrollers on the market, including devices in which up to 30 MMCs can be connected to a single bus.
An SD memory card is a highly-sophisticated device about the size of a postage stamp. SD memory cards are used to digitally store any type of multimedia data, and therefore have potential applications not only in communication fields, but also entertainment and information storage. For example, SD memory cards are usable in conjunction with palmtop computers, personal computers, digital cameras, audio/voice recorders, printers, and game consoles. Like SIM cards and MMCs, SD memory cards are non-volatile, which means that they do not require power to retain the information stored therein. They are solid state devices, so they have no moving parts to skip or break down. Also, SD memory cards provide a storage capacity of 32 and 64 MB, with 128 and 256 MB capacity likely to be available in the near future.
SD memory cards enable high-speed, user-friendly, and secure downloading of digital files for a number of multimedia applications including music, movies, photos, and pervasive computing applications such as, for example, downloading cooking instructions from a suitably equipped microwave oven. Files can be easily transferred from a PC to the SD memory card, or vice versa, whereupon the SD card containing the transferred information can then be used in another electronic device.
As with the SIM cards, if a user desires to perform more than one function or capability with the device or requires more storage than available on one of the MMC or SD memory card, it will be necessary for the user to carry and switch between two or more cards, which is, of course, inconvenient.
The present invention overcomes the disadvantage encountered in the prior art discussed above by providing an integrated circuit card having at least two integrated electronic modules for enabling a corresponding number of applications on one card, thus eliminating the need to carry an additional card for each additional function or application. In particular, the integrated electronic card according to the present invention includes at least two integrated electronic modules which can be individually accessed based upon the orientation of the card in the electronic device. To activate a different integrated electronic module, the card is simply removed from the electronic device, re-oriented (rotated or flipped over) and reinserted into the device. The need for carrying a different card for each integrated electronic module is thus eliminated.
In a first embodiment of the invention, the two integrated electronic modules are provided on opposing surfaces of the card and may be formed as two separate semiconductor chips each embedded on one side of the card, or as one chip having exposed contact terminals on both faces of the card, depending on the size and shape of the chip(s) mounted in the card. In the embodiment, the card is flipped over to place the desired integrated electronic module in contact with the contacts of the electronic device.
In a second embodiment of the present invention, the two integrated electronic modules are both provided on the same surface of the card, and the card is rotated to place the desired integrated electronic module in contact with the contact interface in the device to access the desired application or function. In a further embodiment, the card is provided with four integrated electronic modules, so that four different functions or applications can be realized using the same electronic device by simply arranging the card in the electronic device so that the appropriate integrated electronic module is aligned with the contact interface in the device.
In a conventional SIM or smart card, one of the corners of the card is notched so as to guide the user as to the correct orientation of the card upon insertion into the electronic device. In the present invention, two or more corners of the card are notched, with each notch corresponding to the orientation of a respective integrated electronic module when correctly positioned in the activated position in the electronic device.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the invention which refers to the accompanying drawings.